Wasurenai na Ai
by windborne
Summary: When Sakura injures Kisame, she is required to serve in Akatsuki in his place, with his partner. Sparks are flying fast and thick... [ItaSaku].
1. Chapter 1

Wasurenai na Ai (Unforgettable Love)

_Italics_ are thoughts.

"whatever" is dialogue.

---------- indicates a scene change or time skip.

_Kono you ni umarete _

_**(We've been born in this world)**_

_Anata no me ni_

_**(And within your eyes)**_

_Nani wo ozoshite_

_**(Something is stirring.)**_

_Ima kono chi ni chikara wo_

_**(Right now, there is power in this earth)**_

_No ni hana wo _

_**(And flowers in the field)**_

_Kokoro ni ai wo_

_**(And love in your heart.)**_

Chapter One: Himitsu no Kotoba (Secret Words)

Sakura stared down at her hands and at the fully packed rucksack at her feet as she slouched on her apartment sofa. The moon hung in the sky, pale light filtering through the window and pooling on the floor. As she shifted her gaze to the glowing orb, she thought of no one else but him. What else could be expected of her?

_Are you looking up at the same moon as me, Sasuke-kun?_

Her cherry-hued hair had grown longer, and she had changed. They had all changed, in these eight long years which crawled past. Time seemed to drag on so long without Sasuke by her side. Even if he wasn't willing to go out with her, they were still team-mates. They still got on well enough. They still met regularly.

Unlike now.

Even as she tried to remain the same, she changed against her will. Longer hair, larger eyes, taller body, fuller figure, shorter skirts – she had learned to accept all these. Most of the village could not forgive the quiet Uchiha prodigy for almost killing the best genin of that time. Neji, Chouji, Lee – all three had almost died at the hands of the Sound Four. Shikamaru had been lucky to escape relatively uninjured, thanks to the timely arrival of Temari. Lee, too, had received help from Gaara at exactly the right time against Kimimaro. Kankurou, too, had gone to the help of Kiba and Akamaru. The shock had swept through the village, surprising everyone. Nobody had ever harboured the thought that Sasuke would abandon them, would turn against them, for the sake of power.

Tsunade had refused to send another team out after Sasuke, even after her precious protégé cried and begged herself hoarse. She replied that she had almost lost the most promising ninjas in the village, and she could not afford to waste any more shinobi. Not for the sake of one lone, pink-haired chuunin, and one misguided prodigy.

The fifth Hokage had rejected her plea. It was time for Sakura to take matters into her own hands and begin…

…If she could bring herself to.

She thought of Naruto first. The hyperactive blonde never failed to bring a smile to her lips, no matter how down she felt, how inadequate. In his own special way, through his crush on her, he had brought her peace and assurance of a sort – that she wasn't completely ugly and useless. Ino next- they were rivals for Sasuke's heart, but in their own manner, they were best friends. Kakashi-sensei too… the silver-haired jounin appeared casual and uncaring, but underneath the underneath, he was just a teacher who cared about his students a lot, enough to die for them. But apparently, he didn't love Sasuke enough to defy the Hokage's express orders. If he, far stronger and more capable than her, didn't dare, how could she?

The answer was simple.

She could, because she loved Sasuke with all her being. And that was more than enough for her.

Rising to her feet quickly, she grabbed the rucksack and slung it onto her back. With a number of quickly formed hand seals, there was a smoky pop, and she was gone. Without the presence of the roseate-haired chuunin, the sitting room seemed so empty, even though the moon still shone in all her splendour in the night sky.

----------

Sakura stalked through the forest, footfalls silent. A black hood covered her hair, her most prominent feature. Her Konoha hitai-ate was not in its customary perch on top of her head. This night, she wore it properly, just like Naruto, Neji, and Sasuke did.

All her thought processes led back to the same person.

Her red blouse and skirt were covered by a black hooded cloak, which hid her well in the shifting shadows of the night. Her beryl-hued eyes darted in every direction. The shadows could provide cover for more than just a Konoha kunoichi sneaking away to carry out tasks of her own. A snowy owl hooted in the treetops, and she shuddered. As she began to speed up, she enjoyed the wind which rushed past her..

-----Three Days Later-----

Sakura was tired.

Not just tired, but that type of bone-deep exhaustion which announced itself when it was most unwanted. She had been running for three days and nights on end, and the hunt was beginning to tell on her. She stopped to replenish foodstuffs and medicines in a small nondescript village before moving on, always taking care to avoid the ANBU and other shinobi.

She dropped to her knees beside a fast-flowing river, and dipped her hands into the cool water, splashing it over her face. The clear liquid shone like diamonds under the bright sunshine. She drank deeply, sighing with contentment. She was enjoying herself when she suddenly froze. Killing intent blossomed from a bush three meters away from her. Without hesitating a moment, she threw herself to the side, away from the stream, just in time to avoid a flight of shuriken. She jumped to a tree branch, hand going to the blade sheathed on her back Terror washed through her afresh as the monstrous figure of the Akatsuki missing-nin stepped out into the light where she could see him clearly.

She still remembered. Kisame, the brutal sharkman who had slaughtered his clan in a way somewhat similar to Itachi, grinned up at her menacingly. "Wonderful. I come expecting to catch a fish, and I catch a lovely young kunoichi." Samehade was in his hand, and he swung it a few times casually. "Come on down, little girl. Let's play," he chuckled. The green tinge of his skin made Sakura sick.

"I'll never let you take me alive," Sakura snarled, giving him a loathing look. The Akatsuki member only grinned as her eyes narrowed in suspicion. She had barely realized the truth when a kage bunshin of him knocked her square off her perch. Squirming around like a cat, she landed on her hands, and flipped immediately, dropping into a fighting stance, fists raised.

"Let's begin then," she growled, emerald eyes flaming with green fire. Infuriatingly, Kisame only chuckled at her, and put his Samehade aside. "I don't need my sword to beat a little girl like you," he laughed.

Sakura swore at him and charged. Kisame caught her foot easily as she lashed out at him with her right foot, then let out a muffled curse when her chakra-laden fist caught him square in the stomach. Grabbing her wrist, he lifted her bodily and threw her hard. With no way out, Sakura landed on the bumpy, rocky ground with bone-cracking force. Sharp gravel cut her left arm and leg. A quick burst of healing solved them.

"Oho… you're a medical ninja, eh?" Kisame noted with some amusement. Sakura sneered at him, then formed seals with her hands. Twenty clones surrounded him in an instant, all armed with a pair of kunais. The band rushed him quickly. Kisame leapt away, striking out with flying fists and feet. Several bunshins disappeared, leaving fifteen or so. A barrage of shuriken removed them all, leaving one valiant roseate-haired kunoichi behind. Kisame grinned and advanced slowly, relishing the taste of victory.

Another quick round of seals, and Sakura spit fire at him. A technique Sasuke had taught her before leaving – his family's famous Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu. Kisame swore and dodged the searing flames, and drove himself right into Sakura's foot. She had moved too fast for him to see clearly, and had prepared to kick him in the stomach hard. However, he had not noticed in time, and threw himself right into the path of her kick. Sakura heard a few of his ribs crack, and she smiled. A kunai spun in her palm, and she stabbed him hard in the side. At his hiss of pain, her smile widened, before she shoved him away hard. He landed on his hands and knees, breathing hard. The agony surged through him.

"Not so little now, am I?" Sakura taunted unmercifully.

"You should be ashamed of yourself, Kisame." Behind her, a dark voice reminiscent of deep caverns spoke. Kisame did not deign to reply, instead shooting her a hateful glance.

Sakura spun around on the balls of her feet, kunai in each hand. The infamous swirling mangekyou sharingan eyes greeted her. _Uchiha Itachi! Damn!_

She only had time for a fleeting instant of terror before Itachi's Tsukiyomi grabbed hold of her and dragged her mind away.

"I didn't ask for help," Kisame growled.

"Do you even know who you were fighting with?" Itachi questioned, ignoring his partner's rude tone.

"Some random kunoichi," the sharkman replied, sulking.

"No. This is the Godaime's pet protégé, and my foolish little brother's ex-team-mate," Itachi replied, lifting Sakura by the collar to stare into her face, which was presently contorted with suffering.

"Looks like I won't be able to fight for awhile, thanks to that bitch," Kisame complained.

"True. We can't let Akatsuki business slow down just because you were an idiot. We'll take the girl along," Itachi said, slinging her over his shoulder. Her body was limp, her face slack as she was lost in the spell of Tsukiyomi.

"Let's go. We only have six hours before Tsukiyomi ends and she awakes," Itachi ordered. Without bothering to help his partner up, he darted off. Grumbling beneath his breath, Kisame rose, wincing as his ribs ground against each other. Muttering uncomplimentary things about Sakura and kunoichis in general, he trudged off, trying his best to ignore the fact that he'd have been beaten by a girl less than half his age if Itachi hadn't come along.

----------

When Sakura awoke, her head ached dully. Her green eyes blinked at the ceiling confusedly, still rather disorientated. She tried to flip over, then found she couldn't move. Her wrists and ankles were bound with chakra-wrapped rope, and she was spread-eagled on the bed. With her hands so far apart, it was impossible for her to do jutsus, especially since the ropes were so tight that they were cutting off her blood circulation.

She turned her head, and met red eyes. She stiffened immediately, afraid that he would use his doujutsu on her again.

"So. You are awake. You have a lot to answer for, kunoichi," Itachi told her. Still dressed in his trademark Akatsuki black cloak, mesh shirt and pants, he stood beside the bed, looking down.

"I don't need to answer to you," Sakura snarled, pulling futilely at her bindings.

A sharp slap was dealt to her, her right cheek covered with a stinging red handprint. "First rule. Don't talk back," Itachi drawled.

"Kisame is unable to do his duties for a month thanks to your attack. You will stand in for him while he recovers," the missing-nin said bluntly. Sakura blinked in shock.

"Hel-lo! That idiot was the one who attacked me in the first place! Send him to a medic-nin!" Sakura cried out indignantly Itachi's eyebrows rose.

"Yes, Kisame has a tendency to underestimate females. However, you **will** do this. Or else you will never do anything else ever again. Understood?" Itachi studied Sakura's face a moment, until she turned her face away.

"Yes." She understood. That didn't mean that she was resigned to being Akatsuki for a month. She was a kunoichi, from the famed Team 7. No one, missing-nin or otherwise, was going to make her do what she didn't want to!

* * *

A/N: Please review. It would make me happy. Plus, it would speed up the arrival of the next chapter.

Thanks for reading.

25.01.2006: My new beta reader went over this chapter and discovered so many mistakes that I am totally ashamed. Anyway. I did my best to correct those mistakes. Any left over are fully my fault.

Kyasarinyume07 signing off.


	2. Chapter 2

Wasurenai na Ai

_Kono sayounara ga tabidachi naraba_

_**(If this farewell is the beginning of a journey)**_

_Boku no egao wo zenbu ageru yo_

_**(I'll do my best to smile for you.)**_

_Deatta koto mo aruite machi mo_

_**(Even as the fact that we met and walked the streets together)**_

_Futari no mune de ikitsudzukeru no_

_**(Will live on in our hearts.)**_

_Zutto zutto wasurenai_

_**(I'll never, ever forget)**_

_Tobira ikutsu agete mo_

_**(No matter how many doors I open)**_

_Donna ni tooku hanarete mo _

_**(No matter how far apart we are)**_

_Tsunaida te to te hanare wa shinai_

_**(Our locked hands will never separate.)**_

_**-BoA, bridge and chorus from her new single 'EVERLASTING'**_

Chapter Two: Everlasting/ Kimi no Soba ni Iru (By Your Side)

Sakura surrendered herself to sleep again once Itachi left the room, shutting the door with a soft click behind him. She was still extremely tired. Itachi's Tsukiyomi had taken a toll on her mind. Even within her dreams, she remembered the disgusting images shown to her, over and over and over again. Although it seemed like years to her, the reality was that it was only six hours. The technique which had left her famed Kakashi-sensei a wreck for days had had a similar effect on her, though she refused to sob. She was a Konoha shinobi, and she had her pride as the Fifth Hokage's star pupil.

-----_The images shown in Tsukiyomi-----_

_Sakura stood rooted to the spot as Sasuke smiled in a feral manner. "Run!" she screamed as he pounced on Naruto, chidori in one hand. With a gurgling cry, Naruto dropped, a hole opened in his lower abdomen. Sakura let out a cry of shock as he collapsed in a spray of thick blood. Sasuke did not stop; instead, he leapt at Ino, breaking her neck with a swift blow. Shikamaru became the next victim, as Kiba and Akamaru followed. Shino, Hinata, Chouji, Lee, Neji and Tenten met the same fate And then, Sasuke was squaring off with Kakashi-sensei. "Noooooo!" Sakura shrieked. Kakashi's hitai-ate was raised, revealing one swirling Sharingan eye. Sasuke's orbs were blood-red already, the Mangekyou Sharingan swirling. With the death of Naruto at his hands, the infamous ability had come to him. He was grinning wildly, insanely. Kakashi-sensei and her precious Sasuke-kun exchanged blows, moving in flurries of speed. Before she knew it, Kakashi-sensei had dropped to his knees, moaning in pain as she spotted a deep gash in his side. Sasuke smiled another sickening smirk as he powered up another Chidori in his hand, plunging it into their teacher's back. Blood spattered over him, as he turned to Sakura with a crazed grin._

_It would take her years to forget those familiar bodies lying in a bloody pile._

_----------_

When Sakura woke again, Itachi was by her bedside for the second time in a row. His eyes were still the swirling Sharingan orbs. She idly wondered whether he ever changed them back to their normal state. "Can't I heal Kisame instead?" she asked, not bothering to wish him a good morning, or afternoon, or whatever. "Kisame is not receptive to healing chakra because of his shark nature," Itachi replied indifferently. "You will not get out of this, kunoichi," he added after a moment, pausing to glare at her.

"Haruno Sakura," she said abruptly, changing the topic. "Excuse me?" Itachi asked, thinking that he had heard it wrongly. The Uchiha clan's power was concentrated in their eyes, not their ears. "I said, my name is Haruno Sakura. It is not 'kunoichi'," she repeated, sending him a glare which almost equalled Sasuke's in intensity. Itachi gave her a puzzled glance, then shrugged.

"When are you going to untie me?" Sakura griped, annoyed by the restriction. "When you swear by your shinobi honour that you will follow my orders, I will release you. Obviously, you will be confined to the house unless we receive a mission, and you will not attempt to injure me or anyone else you meet in this place. You will not try to escape," he stared out of the window. If Sakura lowered her eyelids and squinted just a little, he looked exactly like how she imagined Sasuke to be right now.

"Shinobis have no honor. We are only professional mercenaries," Sakura laughed bitterly. It was true. Shinobi were, above all else, trained and emotionless killers, for most part. "By my foolish little brother's life, then," Itachi didn't bother to turn. Sakura hesitated, before nodding. "All right, I swear," she growled. Itachi drew a kunai from a hip holster, then began cutting her ropes. They fell apart quickly, and Sakura massaged her wrists and ankles, wincing as the blood was free to circulate in those limbs. Rope burns marked her skin as she flinched.

"You'll be allowed to move freely in the house. However, do not enter any rooms with closed doors. The kitchen is downstairs. Take whatever you want from it. Wear the Akatsuki cloak at all times, you will find two in the wardrobe. Sasori and Deidara live in this house too. There's an attached bathroom. There will be a mission tomorrow. Get ready." With those terse words, Itachi walked swiftly out of the door and disappeared down the corridor.

Sakura blinked. "That was… fast." She murmured to herself.

----------

After changing into some spare clothing she had gotten from her rucksack she found in a corner of the room, she grudgingly donned the item Itachi had specified. The cut and design of all Akatsuki cloaks was the same, the exception being the color of the cloud pattern. On the one she put on, the clouds were pink, the same hue as her hair. On Itachi's, the clouds were red, like his Sharingan. On Kisame's, the clouds were greenish blue, like his skin. Her various kunai, shuriken, and senbon were neatly laid out beside her rucksack, and Sakura picked them up and turned them over, searching for any cracks which might have resulted from her fight with Kisame. Finding none, she tucked one kunai into its holster, and concealed the other weapons all over her body, before steeling herself and walking out the door.

She walked down the hallway, looking about with some measure of interest. The only windows were at each end of the corridor, and they were too small to climb out of. Doors were spaced equally apart along the walls, and most were closed. Reaching the staircase, she descended slowly, watching for anybody else. So far, the house seemed to be empty, although she knew there were at least two other people about other than herself.

An open door led into a sitting room, and Sakura's keen ears heard soft movement, and the slight clinking of metal. Deciding to leave that for another time, she entered the kitchen through an open archway, and stopped short abruptly.

Kisame was sitting at the table, downing cup after cup of strong sake. Without turning his head, he spoke.

"Here to gloat, kunoichi?" he asked.

Sakura frowned, moving further into the room and eyeing a bowl of fruit speculatively.

"Nope, I didn't know you were here," she replied at last.

She picked up an apple and stared at it hard.

_Flashback_

_Sasuke knocked the plate of apple slices from her hands, spilling the fruit she had peeled and sliced so carefully all over the floor. "Fight me, Naruto," he rasped._

_End Flashback_

Sakura shook her head and pursed her lips, dropping the apple back into the bowl and selecting a plum instead.

"You're really something, kunoichi," Kisame murmured, staring into the depths of his sake cup.

"My name's Sakura, not 'kunoichi'. Is this some Akatsuki thing, that everyone calls me 'kunoichi' now?" she asked tartly.

Kisame did not deign to reply, deciding to inspect the label of the sake bottle. "Are you drunk?" Sakura demanded, looking at him closely.

"Look, why don't you let me heal you and go on my way?" she asked hopefully.

Kisame shook his head. "Healing don't work on me, little girl. And didn't Itachi tell you not to bother?" he slurred.

Sakura shook her head at him. "You're definitely drunk if you can't talk properly," she muttered beneath her breath, exasperated.

"Kisame, have you seen Deidara? I think he took one of my – what the?"

A young man came trotting into the kitchen, holding a hammer in one hand and a filer in the other. They both stared at one another.

"Oh. You again. It's the girl who fought against me with Chiyo-baasama. What the hell are you doing here?" he glared.

"You think I have a choice?" Sakura retorted, nettled by his tone.

"Itachi wants her to take my place while I finish healing," Kisame yawned, pouring himself yet another cup. Sakura stormed over and snatched the bottle away.

"Don't drink so much. Do you know what sake does to your body? If you take even **longer** to heal, I'll be stuck here!" she scolded. If looks could kill, Kisame would be a bloody corpse on the floor.

Kisame grunted. "Give me back my sake," he rasped, snatching it back.

"You even care about your enemies… I repeat to you, girl, is that the way of a shinobi?" Sasori asked with a measure of amusement.

"Shut up you… didn't Chiyo-sama kill you, anyway?" she snapped back.

Sasori shrugged. "The Akatsuki has a medical ninja available at all times," he answered evasively. "Anyway, Kisame, tell me when Deidara comes back." He spun on his heel, and was gone instantly.

Sakura snarled wordlessly, and bit into the plum viciously. Kisame hiccupped a few times, and gulped down yet another cup of sake. Finishing the fruit, Sakura tossed the pit into the dustbin and walked out.

Striding into the living room, she realized that Sasori was doing something on the rug in front of the fireplace, toying with metal gears and things like that. With a start, she realized that he was putting yet more gizmos into Hiruko, his preferred puppet. Silently, she plopped down into an armchair, and watched intently what he was doing for more than fifteen minutes.

When Sasori got tired of the staring, he glanced at her with annoyance.

"Don't you have somewhere else to be, kunoichi?" he growled.

"My name is Sakura, not kunoichi. And I'm stuck in this stupid house, so I might as well watch what you do in case I have to fight you again for Konoha someday," she retorted, repeating her name for the third time that same day. She was beginning to think that all the members of Akatsuki were sexist. It was extremely irritating to have to keep telling them what her name was, when she knew fully well they knew what she was called.

Sasori chuckled, but it took a moment before Sakura realized that he was laughing and not making some weird grinding sound.

"What are you laughing at," she was beginning to think that all the members in Akatsuki were psychotic, too. That is, if being in Akatsuki wasn't proof enough already.

"Foolish girl. It's standard, Sakura-_chan_. Once you're gone from your village a week without reason, you're declared a missing-nin," he grinned at her. Sakura stared and blinked in shock a few times before standing to leave, giving him no reply.

-----The morning after Sakura left-----a

Naruto ran into the Hokage's office, panting heavily.

"Tsunade-baachan, Sakura-chan is gone!" he shrieked girlishly, slamming his fists onto her table.

Tsunade looked up, so alarmed that she even forgot to reprimand Naruto for calling her an old woman.

"Where did she go? Did she leave a note?" Tsunade demanded. Naruto shook his head, too out of breath for more words. Tsunade pursed her lips and frowned.

Pulling a form towards her and beginning to fill it in, she sighed deeply. "Naruto, alert the ANBU of Sakura's new status. Have them look out for her during their regular patrols. If she is still missing after a week, report back to me."

Naruto nodded, too shocked by his long-time friend's sudden departure for no obvious reason, and quickly left the office.

Tsunade banged her head against the table a few times in abject frustration.

"Sakura, you've gone to look for Sasuke, haven't you…" she murmured.

* * *

A/N: Whee! Hello, people… I hope you enjoyed the second chapter of 'Wasurenai na Ai', which means 'Unforgettable Love'. Yeah.

This story remains canon until chapter 274 of the manga. In my version, Sasori DOES NOT die, obviously. However, Chiyo still won the battle and managed to revive Gaara, blah blah blah. Sasori remains alive, and Deidara retains his right arm. Also, now, Sakura is twenty years old, so Itachi should be twenty-four. Naruto is twenty too. Neji is twenty-one.

I know that the Akatsuki cloaks all have red clouds. Bear with me here, it's just my personal fancy. Otherwise, it's so boring! Yeah?

Right, now to pairings. The main one is still ItaSaku, with a little SasoriSaku and SasuSaku thrown in for flavor. Naruto and Hinata are dating, and so are Neji and Tenten. Kakashi is dating Shizune. Tsunade and Jiraiya are sort of in an off-and-on relationship. Lee, Kiba, and Shino are all still single. Ino is considering the candidates for her boyfriend. Mm. There's a tiny bit of onesided GaiKurenai, as well as onesided LeeSaku. That's all I can think of for now…

I corrected mistakes readers pointed out to me. So, now, if I got it right, Kankuro went to the aid of Kiba and Akamaru.

Can someone tell me what Sasori's real hair color is? I keep seeing pictures of him blond, red-haired, even green-haired. I read the manga, so I have no idea what he really looks like. While you're at it, please include his eye color.

I can't think of a thing to say. A big fat thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter – fifteen is the most I ever got for a first chapter or a oneshot. Please review for this one too… it'll make me update faster/winks/

Gotta go now…bye!

25.01.2006 - My new beta reader went over this chapter also, although it was posted before we got together and stuff. Again, there were so many mistakes that I am totally degraded.

...damn.

Kyasarinyume07 signing off.


	3. Chapter 3

Wasurenai na Ai

_Italics are thoughts._

"Blah" is dialogue.

_I'm packing my bags cause I don't wanna be_

_The only one who's drowning in their misery_

_And I'll take that chance cause I just wanna breathe_

_And I won't look back and wonder how it's supposed to be_

_How it's supposed to be..._

_- chorus of Empty Handed by Michelle Branch, off the CD 'Hotel Paper'_

Chapter 3: Empty Handed

"How could I have forgotten?" Sakura murmured to herself, staring down at her hands as she wandered along the hallway, looking for her room. She remembered the ornate carving on the door, a series of vines and flowers woven together.

"I'm going to be a missing-nin… a missing-nin…"

The thought was unbearable. She was loyal to Konoha, but she had to follow what her heart and Inner Sakura said sometimes, didn't she? Was she a girl who wanted to bring her loved one back first or a Konoha shinobi first? This situation was high on her list of times when her personal life got mixed up with her work.

"Don't talk to yourself. It makes you seem demented," Itachi informed her, striding down the corridor. He brushed past her in a second, and was gone in the next.

She blinked for a moment. "You could be polite enough to make eye contact when you talk to me!" she shouted after him, giving in to Inner Sakura in her frustration. Unsurprisingly, she received no reply.

"Impressive, yeah… You got the guts to shout at Itachi-san, mm." A blonde man who had just turned the corner stared at her, eyebrow quirked. Sakura repressed the urge to groan and bang her head against the wall. Yet another weirdo to deal with. Why her?

"Who are you, anyway?" she asked irritatedly.

"I'm the artist, Deidara. Now, who are you and what are you doing here?" the blonde man inspected his manicure, and frowned when he found a chip in his purple nail enamel.

"I'm Haruno Sakura. Go and ask someone else why I'm here. You're Deidara? Sasori-**chan** was looking for you just now," she informed him.

His eyes widened. "You called Sasori-danna, Sasori-**chan**?" he spluttered. Sakura tilted her head to one side, giving him a quizzical look.

"It would be nice if you refrained from making fun of me behind my back, kunoichi. Deidara, did you take my longest knife blade?" Sasori demanded, having followed Sakura up the stairs. He appeared to be rather peeved.

"No, Sasori-danna, I didn't, yeah?" Deidara tried to look innocent, but his facial muscles couldn't quite pull it off.

Sasori gave him a suspicious stare. "If I find it with you, you will regret it. And kunoichi, if you ever call me 'Sasori-chan' again, I will beat you to within an inch of your life." He glared at them both.

Sakura yawned very obviously.

"Yes, yes…" she flapped a hand at him, as though she was an adult and he was a child she was trying to pacify. "If you never call me Sakura-chan again," she murmured, and began moving off.

As she walked away, she could hear Deidara desperately trying to stifle his laughter, and Sasori hissing threats at his choking partner.

----------

Sasuke glanced out of the window, and his gaze was caught by a sakura tree in full blossom, heavily laden with fragrant blooms. Orochimaru, who had been sitting at his desk quietly doing paperwork, looked up at his second personal assistant questioningly. Kabuto was elsewhere on one of Orochimaru's top secret missions. Sasuke silently shook his head and returned his stare to the blank plaster wall across him.

_Since when have I been reduced to this? When did I begin to follow at Orochimaru's heels like a dog for power which never materialized?_

Sasuke's train of thought meandered along these paths. Eight long years had passed, and he had matured from that young genin of twelve years. He was twenty now, but still occasionally thought of Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, and Naruto. Eight years was not long enough to forget the happy times they'd shared, nor enough to let Sasuke forget the feeling of contentment he had experienced when they were together. Nevertheless, that was one of the reasons as to why he had betrayed Konoha.

_As an avenger, I cannot let myself rest. I must always be driven by hate and ambition._

The touch of pale fingers on his cheek woke Sasuke from his daydreams.

"What are you thinking of, my beautiful Sasuke-kun?" Orochimaru breathed, leaning in close.

Sasuke stopped himself from flinching with effort, and concentrated on keeping his countenance unemotional.

"Nothing, Orochimaru-sama," he replied politely, expressionless. Orochimaru nodded, satisfied, and turned back to the documents littering his desk.

_Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, and Naruto – I miss you all. Do you still think of me?_

_Was it really worth it? For the power to kill Itachi… was abandoning everyone really for the best? There are times when I doubt myself more and more… when I think that I made the wrong decision then…_

_Sakura, Kakashi-sensei, Naruto… can you three ever forgive me?_

Sasuke bit his lip until he tasted metallic blood.

_Thist is precisely why I left the village. Being with all of you made me feel so content and complacent – I can't afford to have that happen. I'm sorry, but I think that the path I chose is still the one which will fulfill my dreams._

Yet, visions of a silver-haired Jounin who was chronically late, a cheerful roseate-haired girl with bright emerald eyes, a hyperactive blonde, and a dark-haired loner enjoying life together danced in his mind sometimes, taunting him with the thought of what could have been.

----------

Ino impatiently drummed her fingers on the table in front of her, indigo eyes filled with annoyance. Tenten was late, yet again. After Sakura had managed to get the weapons master and Hyuuga Neji together, Tenten was always late for meetings with anyone other than her teacher, the Green Beast of Konoha, or the Hokage, with some excuses almost lame enough to rival Kakashi's. The whole town knew the real reason behind her chronic lateness. It was simple.

Hyuuga Neji was a possessive bastard.

Ino stared at the delicate watch fastened around her wrist, a present from Shikamaru and Chouji for her birthday. Tenten was now fifteen minutes late. The record was one hour, three minutes and twenty-seven seconds. Just as Ino was beginning to wonder if Tenten was planning to break her own record, said girl came running down the street towards Ino.

"Ah! I'm so sorry, Ino! I… er… found a puppy that had dropped into the river and went to get it," Tenten panted.

Ino eyed her friend critically. "You're a mess," she pronounced dryly.

It was true. Tendrils of hair had fought their way out of Tenten's usual hair buns and were currently sticking straight up. Tenten's face was reddened with exertion, having presumably run straight from the training field, which was where she and Neji could always be found in the daytime.

Tenten sighed and removed her hair ties, preparing to redo her hair. If Neji could just get it into his head that she was still friends with other people, unlike him, things would be perfect.

_Hmm… Sakura was the one who got us together. If anyone knew the solution to this problem, she would! _Tenten realized triumphantly.

"Ino, do you know where Sakura is?"

"Huh? Why would you want to know where big-forehead girl is?"

"I could use a little help with Neji-kun," Tenten rolled her eyes.

"Well… I guess we could go check her house… but I haven't seen her around for a couple of days. I thought she might be on a mission."

"Perhaps we could ask Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah, Naruto would know. Let's go then," Ino said, forming hand seals quickly. With a smoky pop, she disappeared, Tenten following moments later.

A few minutes later, two voices shrieking in unison could be heard all over Konoha. Birds took to the sky in fear, and the little woodland animals dove back into their homes, hearts thumping quickly.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN, SAKURA'S MISSING!"

----------

Sakura flopped down onto the bed, then stared up at the ceiling. This room was rather like a hotel, actually. Cold and impersonal, it had no indication that a person was living there. Sakura's lip curled as she looked around at the blank plaster walls. Sighing deeply, she grabbed the pillow and buried her face in it.

"Tsunade-shishou… Kakashi-sensei… I'm so sorry," she murmured, rocking herself from side to side.

_I'm trapped… Itachi will kill me if I try to escape and I have to serve in Akatsuki and take over Kisame's duties while he's taking time off to heal. In three more days, I'll be declared a missing-nin. Tsunade-sama told me before – hunter-nin will be sent out if the person is deemed as important enough to warrant a search. With that inhuman strength I received from her, Konoha cannot afford to let me teach that to anyone. Tsunade-sama will have to dispatch ANBU and hunter-nin…_

_What on earth have I gotten myself into?_

_Assuming that the hunter-nin will be able to track me, and that they get this far, they'll all be killed by Itachi, Sasori and Deidara! Perhaps if I moved fast enough, I might be able to deal with them non-lethally – assuming Itachi would allow me to fight against Konoha's shinobis. If he doesn't, then they'll all be dead meat. And at least one of them will probably become Sasori's puppet, too. Yuck._

_I could try to leave with them… but I'm not allowed out of the house yet. Even if I did manage to make it away, we would still be followed… that way, the ANBU and I would be as good as dead, if not worse._

_Since Itachi says there is a mission tomorrow… I can only hope that the mission is long and faraway. I didn't hide my path well…, so the ANBU and hunter-nin would be able to track me easily… Since I went limp after being hit by Itachi's Tsukiyomi, they would lose the trail there._

_Nevertheless, search patterns of the ANBU are complicated. They will probably find this place within five days, at the most. At that time, I may not be back here by then, but Sasori and Deidara might, as well as Kisame. _

Sakura screamed into her pillow in frustration.

_At times like these, I could really use a brain like Shikamaru's…_

----------

A/N: Whee! Another chapter done.

A big fat thank you to my new beta reader, whose real name I don't think I should say on the Internet. Anyway, girl, thanks! (She has just instructed me to call her n2-LhFc here, so…)

The last two chapters have been gone over and corrected. Any mistakes left over are purely my fault.

I may or may not respond to reviews… depending on whether I feel lazy or not… and whether I'm free or not. So…

Again, any mistakes left over are my fault.

Thanks for reading. Review, please?

Kyasarinyume07 signing off.


	4. Chapter 4

Wasurenai na Ai

_Feel the same, ichibyou dake, toki wo tomerareru toshitara_

**(FEEL THE SAME if time stops now, I want to have this)**

_Kono shunkan dake MY HEART _

**(Just this moment forever in MY HEART)**

_Eien ni shitai yo_

**(I want to store this memory away forever)**

_Say again, mata itsuka aeru_

**(SAY AGAIN, on that day, I promised)**

_Tashika no sono hi made_

**(That we would meet again someday)**

_Namida wa iranai ne _

**(So there is no need for tears anymore)**

_Hohoemi de hajimeyou finally_

**(I'll start with a nice smile FINALLY)**

_- Chorus of 'FEEL THE SAME' by BoA, on the CD 'Valenti'_

Chapter Four: Feel the Same

Itachi kept walking onwards, moving rather quickly. For a normal person, that speed would have been called a quick jog, but for him, it was just his regular speed.

Upon reflection, the kunoichi really was rather amusing. Of course, it was taken for granted that whoever saw Itachi smile would probably die minutes, if not seconds later. It was simply not in the Uchiha genius' character to show levity for no good reason. Even Kisame, who had been his partner for more than nine years now, could count on one hand the number of times he'd seen Itachi really smile. However, if he had been a lesser person, he might actually have laughed at the kunoichi's strange habit of talking to herself. Thankfully, he was exactly the way he liked himself.

The leader of the Akatsuki, whose real identity not even his subordinates knew, had contacted Itachi through the ring on his finger last night. It had given off a blue glow, signifying that he wished to speak with Itachi. These rings had two special abilities, and each member of the Akatsuki possessed one and wore it at all times, even while sleeping.

They had used one of those abilities while extracting the Ichibi from Suna's Godaime Kazekage. The special ability to create a clone that could withstand attack until the chakra supply ran out, was extremely useful at times.

The second one, more amazing and unusual, was the ability to communicate telepathically. One major drawback to this was that it was impossible to lie while using it. On the other hand, Itachi was a master of half-truth. Being bound to use the ring, he was less constrained than members like Sasori and Deidara were.

Their new mission was one that was usually done by less important members. An assassination mission. The daimyo of Snow Country had offended their leader somehow, and Itachi and Sakura's orders were to assassinate the lord and his entire family, which consisted of his wife and three children, a boy and two girls.

The leader's words had been explicit – '_kill the whole family, quickly and cleanly. Leave no trace, and when you are done, return immediately.' _That was all he said, and he broke off the contact a moment after Itachi spoke his acceptance. The missing-nin was a tad disgruntled, and he felt that assassination missions were a little below him now. He hadn't done this type of mission since he was captain of the Konoha ANBU.

Itachi was beginning to doubt the wisdom of forcing the kunoichi to stay and take Kisame's place. After all, she was bound to be more trouble than she was worth. Firstly, she was the Godaime Hokage's own apprentice, and possessed various medical ninjutsu and the superhuman strength of her teacher.

Secondly, Hatake Kakashi, the infamous Copy Ninja, had been her genin teacher. Although his repution as a lazy pervert preceded him, Kakashi was not an easy taskmaster. He would not even have let a student join the Chuunin exams if he thought that the person was not ready and not mature enough yet. That alone showed that she was more than able to fight for herself. By beating Kisame, she had proved herself.

Thirdly, she would probably try to escape, unless she was very stupid or very smart. If she got away far enough, it would be a bother to go and track her down. Fourthly, because of her medical knowledge and skills, it was likely that the ANBU would have been sent to retrieve her. The fifth Hokage's jutsu and strength were not something that they could allow to fall into their enemy's hands.

Add all those reasons together, and you had something that spelled trouble.

Itachi was not stupid. During his stint as the Konoha ANBU captain, he had come to the realization that kunoichi weren't generall very efficient during assassination missions, especially when the whole family was to be disposed. Thus, he had assigned the female members to dispatch the parents or to watch their backs, rather than ordering them to kill children. He supposed it was part of their genetic makeup. They had a gut instinct to defend children rather than cold-heartedly kill them. Whatever it was, men seemed to be missing out on it.

On the other hand, he, Itachi, had killed children before, and killed them in droves. Before his massacre of the Uchiha clan, they had been one of the largest families in Konoha, numbering in the dozens. Out of those many, more than half were children, or teenagers. As everyone knew, the only one he spared, child or not, had been his foolish little brother, Sasuke.

However, it was rather galling that the actual Akatsuki member had been educed to murdering children in cold blood while the temporary and unwilling one went after the real objectives.

Itachi pushed open a door and went inside, shutting it softly behind him. He was in his own room, which was, to tell the truth, rather bare. The standard bed and writing desk was there, along with a bedside lamp and a wardrobe which contained mostly Akatsuki clothing – the black cloak, mesh shirt, black pants, and the required straw hat to conceal their identities.

He threw himself onto the bed face-up, and sighed deeply.

----- The next day-----

The door opened without warning, as Sakura was changing out of her pyjamas. Itachi had told her to get ready by eight, and it was already a minute past.

Itachi walked in and stopped dead in his tracks.

----------

Moments later, a shrill scream wrecked the peaceful silence that had filled the house moments before. Sasori, who was hidden under the white blankets save for a tuft of crimson hair, grumbled under his breath and turned over.

----------

"Get out, get out, GET OUT!" Sakura shrieked. A flight of ten senbon rushed towards Itachi.His hands came up in a flash, and eight needles appeared trapped in the spaces between his fingers. He ducked the other two, and raked his gaze down Sakura's naked body casually.

"It's nothing I haven't seen before," he said bluntly, and walked out before she could launch another flight of more dangerous projectiles.

As he closed the door, he heard frustrated, wordless screams.

----------

A few minutes later, Sakura joined Itachi in the sitting room, face and neck flushed pink while scowling and gritting her teeth. If looks could kill, Itachi would be nothing but a bloody puddle on the floor.

She was wearing her usual outfit of a tight-fitting red blouse and a slightly above knee length black wrap-around skirt with short black tights underneath. Her hitai-ate was perched on top of her head like a pair of sunglasses. Itachi looked her up and down, gaze unreadable.

"Like what you see?" Sakura demanded, nettled.

"Your hitai-ate," he said, holding his hand out impatiently.

She stared at him blankly, sure that he had gone insane.

Sighing, he snatched it off her head before she could react and drew his kunai with a flip of his hand.

Metal screeched on metal, and Sakura winced. She was horrified when he handed the headband back to her flippantly.

A deep scratch marred the Konoha symbol.** The mark of a missing-nin.**

She gazed at the band lying in her hand, and barely heard when Itachi gave the order to set off. She followed behind him hazily, still dazed by the realization that now, she was truly on the wanted list of Konoha.

----------

Itachi stood on a tree branch, inspecting the castle walls. Sakura panted a little way behind him, tired out by the long run.

"We'll scale the walls at midnight. Take a break now," he ordered, dropping down to the ground.

Sakura complied, too exhausted to protest. She had used a touch of chakra on the soles of her feet to keep up with him, although she had sensed no chakra usage from him. The thought that he could run longer and faster than her without using chakra was somewhat galling, but she could only guess that it was natural.

She sat quietly, huddled in her Akatsuki cloak. The climate here was cold, although it wasn't any time near winter. It was spring now, and if it was already this chilly, Sakura didn't want to know what a severe winter felt like. The cloak must have been lined with some special material, for after a while, Sakura wasn't shivering anymore, although she remained sitting. The compulsory straw hat rested on the ground beside her, and although she longed to rip it apart, she knew she couldn't.

----------

Sakura crept through the hallways silently, keeping to the shadows. She and Itachi had gotten past the guards and the castle walls together. When they came to a junction, he had turned left and she had gone right. According to the blueprints he had somehow obtained, the chambers of the lord and lady were this way. They slept in different rooms, so Sakura had a little more work to do than Itachi, whose prey shared the same room.

She reached the lord's room first. Evidently, this daimyo was one who was rather brash and blunt, and obviously infernally stupid, if he had managed to offend the leader of Akatsuki and had not increased security. Granted, it would not have worked, but extra guards might have delayed the assassins.

She tried the handle of the door, and was unsurprised when she met resistance. Reaching into her pocket, she felt around for the small packet of lock picks that she always carried with her wherever she went. It was a rather useful skill, being able to get into places she wasn't supposed to. She inserted the long, straight pick quickly, and several more followed. In a few seconds, the door swung open silently. The hinges were well-oiled, too. It was almost as though the daimyo had made her path easy.

Sakura knew that things that appeared to be too good to be true often were not real.

"_A ninja's job is to look underneath the underneath."_

_----------_

A/N: Finished another chapter. Whew!

One person commented that the story was rather boring so far. Well, Sakura has started receiving her missions, so… more action will be provided. I like to begin at the beginning of the story, rather than start at the middle and go backwards. Yeah. So. I apologize about that. The real stuff starts in the next few chapters. I have a few ideas about Sakura's missions lined up!

In case anyone was wondering, I make this up as I go along, so the end result is usually very far from what I originally intended. For a good example, look at my other story, which is currently up to… seventeen chapters, I think. I originally wanted it to be about seven or eight, but it took on a life of its own. I suspect this one will, too… /sigh/ Oh, great.

Never mind.

Eh, please note, I'll either update a week after the previous one or when I get fifteen reviews.

Kyasarinyume07 signing off.

(beta-read by n2-LhFc… thanks/huggles)


	5. Chapter 5

_Wasurenai na Ai_

Mukuchi ni naruhodo suki yo** (I love you so much I can't speak)**

Yasashisa doushitara mieru no? **(So how will you see my kindness?)**

Dakishimete motto tsuyoku **(Hold me tighter)**

Atataka na mune wo shinjiru yo **(I believe in your warm heart)**

Sayonara, solitia… **(Goodbye, solitaire…)**

Ashita he… **(Until tomorrow…)**

**-Sayonara Solitia, sung by Chiba Saeko**

**STORY NOTES: **

_Italics normal_

_-----_Lyrics----- lyrics

Note Written on notes

_Chapter Five: Sayonara Solitia (Goodbye, Solitaire)_

_Sakura crept into the room, concealing herself in the shadows which blanketed the areas near the walls. Her azalea-hued hair was covered by a coarsely-woven hood, and her emerald eyes were apprehensive._

_The place she had just entered was devoid of humanity. Pieces of furniture were artistically scattered about, and the room was carpeted thickly._

_There was something very wrong with this place, and she intended to find out what it was._

_Sakura moved on, eyes darting about suspiciously, a kunai gripped tightly in her hand._

_----------_

_Itachi turned a corner and pushed the correct door open with little stealth. His eyes scanned the room dismissively, then quietly his hand went for a shuriken unobtrusively as he detected someone standing in the corner, well-concealed in darkness._

"_Come out." It was all he said, but his tone was brooked no room for argument.._

_A girl with bright blonde hair tied in four ponytails emerged from her hiding place, her weapon unfurled and ready. The gigantic fan's elegantly pierced ribs were razor sharp, as the kunoichi bared her teeth in a feral grin._

_----------_

_Sakura slipped into the next room, by way of an open connecting door._

_Sure enough, there was someone there, but it didn't seem to be who she was expecting. The man fitted the description Itachi had given her, but it was late night already, and he should have been long asleep. Upon seeing her, the man's eyes widened._

"_Is that you, Sakura?" he asked. She frowned, then formed a single seal. The illusion around him ended instantly, leaving her gaping._

"_Kankuro?"_

"_What are you doing here, Sakura? It's dangerous, and I'm on a mission. You should leave now," Kankuro cautioned her, misunderstanding her presence._

_Sakura swallowed hard. "What's your mission, Kankuro?" she asked, grimacing._

"_Protection from assassins," he replied, brow furrowing. "Are you…?"_

_Sakura looked away from him, warring within herself. _

"_I… don't know," she admitted, although it was more for her own ears than his._

"_Konoha was assigned no mission regarding this place. Why are you here? We were informed that the Akatsuki was going to take action against the daimyo, so Gaara sent Temari and me, but you aren't a missing-nin!" Kankuro was very obviously confused. The threads connecting him with his puppets hung loosely._

"_No way… you're…" Kankuro pointed an accusing finger at her._

_Covering her face, Sakura fled the room, cursing silently when she heard corresponding footsteps pounding behind her._

_----------_

"_This is where you'll stop, traitor," Temari said before launching her first attack. _

_Giant crescents of sharp-edged wind blades blasted towards Itachi, and he neatly avoided them. A flight of shuriken and kunai was thrown at the blond kunoichi, who knocked them off course effortlessly._

_She silently cursed to herself when Itachi's eyes began swirling with the crimson depths of the Mangekyou Sharingan._

_She didn't dare to look at his face or his hands, knowing that the ring-wearing finger would be extended, ready to trap her in oblivion. _

_Tearing the skin of her palm with her teeth, she smeared the red blood on her fan, and then swung it in a burst of chakra._

"_Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" _

_A giant weasel appeared, snarling in rage. It dove at Itachi, scythes slicing through the air, right at him. Itachi only looked it in the eye, and then the summoned animal froze for a second, before falling. Temari gaped in horror as it began to disappear._

_Moving faster than the eye could follow, he pushed the fan aside, never showing a twinge of pain as the edge bit into his palm cruelly. He looked right into Temari's eyes, and a horrific scream issued from her throat._

_She went completely still for a moment, before keeling over and collapsing completely. Tears dribbled from the corner of her eyes, as Itachi left her whimpering on the floor._

_So this was the truth, strange as it seemed. They had been tricked. Sakura was sure to be in trouble._

_----------_

_She silently fled down the illuminated hallway, silent and stealthy. She could hear Kankuro coming behind her, and that made her dash all the faster. A slight touch of chakra to her feet soles helped speed her up._

"_Sakura, wait!" she heard Kankuro shout._

_Sakura kept rushing onwards, hanging a sharp right and continuing. She almost tripped over a prone body, and caught herself just in time. She only caught a glimpse of blond hair before the momentum carried her onward._

_She heard Kankuro's shocked cry as he discovered the unconscious body of his older sister._

_No one noticed that the floor in Sakura's wake was dotted with tiny drops of clear liquid._

_----------_

_Itachi found her a few minutes later, poised on top of the wall surrounding the mansion compound._

"_What happened?" she asked levelly. In the darkness, Itachi could not see her face, although he guessed that she had been crying._

"_Leader instructed us to go back. We'll be receiving another mission while Sasori and Deidara track down the daimyo," Itachi informed her._

"_Let's go." He leapt down, landing on the packed soil silently. When Sakura hit the ground beside him, they both took off, moving off swiftly._

_----------_

"_Sasori-danna… Wake up." Deidara stood in the doorway, blond ponytail drooping as he yawned sleepily._

_Sasori murmured something under his breath, which Deidara suspected was a curse aimed at him, flipped over, and fell asleep again._

"_Come on, Sasori-danna… Wake up! We've got a mission!" Deidara moved a few steps closer, standing over the redhead's bed._

_Sasori griped as Deidara barely dodged a volley of shuriken, sent spinning his way by the irate and very sleepy puppet master._

"_Wake up now!" Deidara hollered, at the end of his tether._

_Sasori turned to face him, glaring hard. "I'm sleeping. Get out."_

"_Leader has a new mission for us! Get out of bed already!" Deidara shrieked._

_Sasori sat up in bed, eyes glittering. "This had better be good, Deidara."_

_----------_

_Kisame lashed out when Deidara tapped his shoulder with a finger. Deidara missed having his nose crushed by bare inches._

"_What do you want, Deidara?" Kisame growled, in a foul mood. He treasured his time of rest._

"_Come on. You're going with us on our mission." Deidara explained._

"_Any particular reason why?" Kisame demanded._

_Deidara grinned. "I heard from Leader that the person we're going after wants your sword. You're bait, Fishy boy," he crowed._

_Kisame sighed. "Why me…" he complained._

_----------_

_When Itachi and Sakura arrived back at the house, it was apparently deserted. Sakura found a note tacked to the wall with a senbon. She read it, before her lips quirked up in a small smile._

Itachi & Sakura,

We've gone on a mission. Don't wait up. We're bringing Kisame along, by the way. We didn't want the house to be filthy when we came back.

Deidara (Sasori sends his love.)

_A small spray of blood across the wooden wall implied that Deidara had paid rather dearly for that remark. _

_----------_

_Sakura slouched on the chair, staring blankly at the wall of cabinets in front of her. A sake bottle rested on the table, and she swirled the dark liquid in the small cup she held. Another bottle lay toppled on the floor, having rolled to a stop after colliding with the wall._

_Sakura buried her head in her hands, sighing heavily. Kankuro's shock and anger at her 'betrayal' had shaken her up quite a bit. The sight of Temari lying in a huddle had fired up his temper, and she herself had been distraught at the sight of the blond kunoichi at death's door. True, they weren't exactly close, but they got along fairly well, especially after Sakura had devised an antidote for Sasori's poison._

_This was getting too much for her._

_And you know what the saddest thing was?_

_It was the fact that she had no way to escape, other than completing the month. But, as Fate would have it, by the time she was done, other ninja would kill her on sight.The irony was killing her._

_It was true, then – when you mess with Fate, she sends Destiny to screw with you._

_----------_

_Somewhat shorter than usual… but I can't find the energy to care anymore._

_Not beta-read – my editor is presently Missing in Action. I got tired of waiting… so I went ahead. Sorry, n2. _

_I'll post up the beta-read chapter as soon as I receive it. I'll replace this with it._

_I'm sleepy… and tired._

_Review for me?_

_Please note, I can't update once a week anymore, no matter how many reviews I get. I simply don't have the time anymore. Please understand._

_I may be changing my username to windborne. Please note that._

_Kyasarinyume07 signing off._


	6. Chapter 6

Wasurenai na Ai

_Shiroi yuki ga machi wo someru goro ni mo **(When the white snow covers the city)**_

_Kimi no soba ni isasete **(Let me stay by your side)**_

_Watashi korekara mou **(Although I may bother you)**_

_Komarasete bakari ka mo shirenai kedo **(Again and again.)**_

_Shiroi yuki ga tokete machi ga **(When the white snow melts)**_

_Azayaka ni irodorareru goro mo **(And the city becomes colorful and vivid)**_

_Koushite kimi no koto ga **(I'd like to keep you closest)**_

_Daichi de shikata nai watashi de itai **(To my heart.)**_

_**-Carols by Ayumi Hamasaki**_

Chapter 6: Carols

Itachi strolled into the kitchen, eyeing the bowl of fruit on the wooden tabletop before noticing the cerise-haired kunoichi face down on the floor. He moved a little closer cautiously and the scent of sake filled his nostrils, and he frowned, wrinkling his nose. The smell of alcohol repulsed him, since he had sworn not to drink. There were things that he just did not do. He had seen the effects of alcohol on shinobi of all types, and had concluded that it wasn't going to do him any good. There were things that he just did not do, and this was one of them.

"Sakura." He flipped her over roughly, only to find that her green eyes were clouded and unfocused.

"Itachiiiiiiii…" she drawled, grinning inanely up at him.

"You suuuuuck, you know thaaaat?" she raised a hand to strike him across the cheek, but he easily caught her wrist in a tight grip which threatened to break bones.

"You're drunk." He said calmly, flash of distaste crossing his eyes fleetingly before disappearing in an instant.

"No, I'm not. I feel great…" Sakura being Sakura, she smiled happily before proceeding to throw up messily all over herself and the missing-nin bending over her and passing out.

Itachi scowled. The horoscope was right. Today was definitely not his day.

He seriously contemplated leaving her there for the night and letting her suffer through the hangover of the year, just for having puked on him. That was before a murmured name changed his mind.

"Sasuke-kun…"

Itachi picked her up, holding her well away from his body and started walking.

The sour-smelling vomit had stained both their clothes, and Itachi's mood had dipped by three hundred percent by the time he reached the room assigned to her. When he pushed the door open, he noticed that there were curtains hanging from the window.

'_Where could she possibly have found that?'_

At least, that was what he was wondering before noticing the note on the wall.

**Sakura,**

**I found some cloth and Sasori demanded curtains for his room, so I made you a set as well. Cheers.**

**Deidara**

Well, that certainly explained things, although the flowery images of the cotton certainly wasn't what he envisioned as Sasori''s pattern of choice.

Itachi propped Sakura up in a nearby chair and stripped the bed efficiently, pulling the sheets away with careless ease. The stench of puke billowed towards him when Sakura shifted, and he resisted the urge to get out of the room and away from the disgusting smell.

The black-haired shinobi was about to toss Sakura on the bed and leave, but he suddenly realized that she couldn't sleep in vomit-stained clothing. The stink would stick to her body and hair for hours, and Itachi's nose was no less sensitive than his swirling, infamous Sharingan eyes.

Itachi hesitated before sighing deeply. Honestly, this girl was useless. She hadn't helped much, and now he was going to have to play the role of a maid and start using a mop.

He palmed his favorite kunai and briskly began cutting open the soaked shirt and skirt on from her body briskly, tossing them in the corner of the room. It certainly wasn't his problem if she complained that the room stank. The knee-high black boots had managed to escape the splatter, and were promptly dropped on the floor with no ado. He pulled the blanket up to her chin and closed the curtains before taking his leave hastily. The smell of puke was going to linger in his hair. After he finished cleaning up, he was going to spend at least an hour in the bathtub.

He walked swiftly down the stairs, leaving an unconscious Sakura in her bed. He didn't really like having to do household chores, but there was no choice. The four Akatsuki members living in the house took turns to clean the house each week. Kisame was the laziest of them all, and Sasori often complained about the standard of hygiene they followed.

---

Itachi sank into the hot, welcoming bathwater gratefully, enjoying the warmth and comfort. He then lifted a strand of hair to his nose, sniffing delicately, and flinched.

Yes, definitely at least a full hour.

---

Orochimaru folded his arms as he gazed at the seven men in front of his desk. Five of them were his most trusted Jounin, and the other two were Kabuto and Sasuke. The mission he was going to send them was his own personal whim. He was going to add to his arsenal of weapons, and he had decided that the swords of the Seven Swordsmen of Mist Village were required.

"Kabuto, you'll be retrieving Zabuza's sword. You'll have a hard time with that, but Zabuza's last known location is printed in this file. He's been killed by Kakashi, so you'll have to discreetly enquire about its whereabouts."

The snake sannin gave out the other missions with the same polished eloquence, until he reached the last one.

"Sasuke-kun, you're going to be given the hardest mission. You will get Hoshigaki Kisame's sword, Samehade. I have information that he has been injured by a kunoichi from Konoha, so he shouldn't put up so much of a fight. However, remember that he is from Akatsuki and is dangerous at all times. Also, I do not want you going after Itachi while on this mission. Do you understand?" Orochimaru demanded, smiling after Sasuke gave a stiff nod.

"Good. You are all dismissed now. You will leave tomorrow at the break of dawn."

---

"Good luck on your mission, Sasuke-kun," Kabuto stuck his hands in his pockets casually, shifting the pack from shoulder to shoulder.

"The same goes for you." Sasuke replied before darting away in an instant. Orochimaru smiled in glee as he watched his vessel-to-be's economical, yet graceful movements.

"What are you waiting for? Go!" he admonished to those still left. Kabuto bowed to his master before walking down the road at leisure.

---

"Tell me more about the mission Leader has sent you and Sasori on, Deidara," Kisame prodded impatiently. The shark hybrid man was not known for his patience.

"What do you want to know, uh?" Deidara asked lazily, calmly balancing a clay explosive bird on his palm.

"For instance, why am I here?" Kisame growled.

"I told you just now, you're bait, yeah."

"Bait for whom?"

"Oh, I don't know about that… Leader only said that Orochimaru would be sending someone to steal your Samehade, yeah. Hey, speaking of that, I wonder how he knows… didn't Sasori's spy betray him, hmm?" Deidara mused.

"Shut up." Sasori ordered. Deidara rolled his eyes and sighed, blond bangs flopping into his eyes as usual.

"So, then, once we meet Orochimaru's servant or whatever, what do we do?" Kisame asked curiously.

"Capture and retrieve information." Sasori replied succinctly.

"Ah… I see." Kisame wrinkled his nose, looking extremely strange.

"Art is a bang…" Deidara remarked randomly. The bird on his palm spread its wings and flew upwards before exploding. Sasori frowned.

"Art is something that can last forever, not one of your silly explosions…" Sasori refuted Deidara's claim.

"Will the two of you shut up about your stupid art!" Kisame groaned. This argument was one that Deidara and Sasori went over about once a day, and was one that they seemed to enjoy.

"The one thing we agree about is that art is definitely not stupid…"

"Stop talking about that already! Does Leader intend to dispose of Orochimaru?" Kisame enquired, trying to turn the topic away from art.

"I suppose so, yeah. He's not much use, anyway… mm…" Deidara began to mold another bird.

"Heh. I guess all of Orochimaru's personal servants will have to be killed too," Kisame inspected Samehade's linen wrappings, checking for bugs.

"Yeah… hey, isn't Itachi's little bro in Sound now?" Deidara recalled.

"Uh-huh. I guess we'll just have to kill him too… or should we leave him to Itachi?" Kisame wondered lazily.

"Ah well, I'm sure Itachi will do the job himself, yeah…" Deidara began to sculpt the wings of the clay bird.

"Kabuto is my prey." Sasori stated clearly.

"Huh?" Kisame asked intelligently.

"Of course, Sasori-danna… yeah…" Deidara quickly reassured him. Sasori's tantrums weren't the best thing to deal with.

"Hey, I just remembered… Sakura was looking for Sasuke when she injured you, isn't that so, Kisame? Huh?" Deidara asked in curiosity.

"Hmph. Yeah, Sasuke was her team mate," Kisame grumped.

"Ah… well, she won't like that, yeah…"

"Hopefully, she'll be gone by that time."

Deidara released the second bird, watching it soar higher as they walked onwards.

"Anyway, art is a bang…"

"No, it is not. Art is something that can last forever…"

"Please, would the two of you just shut up!"

---

Sakura's eyes opened, yawning. Her mouth felt disgusting, and her tongue felt fuzzy. A slight sour taste lingered, and she flinched at the taste.

'_I wonder who brought me up here… was it Itachi?'_

'_Guess I have to thank him next time, huh…'_

'_I would never have pegged him as the helpful type…'_

'_Oh, my God… I need the toilet NOW'_

---

Itachi heard the retching from his bedroom, and dismissed it uncaringly.

---

A/N: Shorter than usual, but hey, I wrote it, didn't I?

Man… I'm tired.

Sakura's last thought, '_Oh, my God… I need the toilet NOW!' _ was suggested by my beta reader, n2-lhfc. Thanks, n2! You're a real gem.

Review, please… /yawns/

Windborne signing off. (like my new penname?)


	7. Chapter 7

Wasurenai na Ai

Find the way gudewa hamkeramyon monamon shigan

**(Find the way, if it's with you, I'll hold these new dreams)**

Jo kutkaji seroun kumul an-goso saragajo

**(And live on until the end of time)**

Jigum nuguboda do monjo nae maum jonhalsu idamyon

**(If anyone could express my heart first)**

Find the way amuron maldo opshi gude-e sonul majujapgo

**(Find the way, I'll hold your hand silently)**

Yongwonhi gudel mitgo salkoeyo

**(And live on trusting you forever)**

Jigum nuguboda do monjo nae maum jonhalsu idamyon

**(If anyone could express my heart first)**

You find the way

**(You find the way)**

-Find the Way, performed by Korean singer Bada, formerly from girl band SES. Taken from Vol. 3 – Made in Sea. (In case you couldn't tell, it's in Korean :D I've been on a Korean music kick lately.)

Chapter 7: Find the Way

Sakura stumbled down the stairs, head spinning. Her tongue and teeth still felt fuzzy, and the sour taste of vomit remained in her mouth, no matter how many times she gargled. Her pastel rose hair was matted, and she yawned as she walked towards the kitchen, in hopes that a small meal would calm her unbearable nausea.

Itachi was sitting at the table when she made her way in, calmly sipping from a tall glass of orange juice. A handcrafted book lay before him, the pages held down by a pair of kunai.

"Good morning," he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice as he turned the page. Sakura glared at him balefully as she reached for the fruit bowl, inspecting the contents speculatively before pillowing her head on her arms and groaning.

"Would you please draw the curtains? My eyes hurt," she mumbled. Itchi didn't spare her a glance, one long finger tracing the calligraphy on the page.

"If you can't stand hangovers, don't bother drinking," he told her succinctly, no trace of remorse evident.

"This is my first hangover," Sakura informed him blearily.

Itachi didn't answer, flipping a page again.

She glanced at his book in interest, blinking numerous times upon realizing what was his choice of reading materials.

"You like _poetry_?" she asked disbelievingly.

"What, missing-nin aren't allowed to read?" Itachi retorted defensively, eyes on his book.

It was on the tip of Sakura's tongue, to reply that she thought they were too busy killing innocents to have spare time.

The ring on Itachi's finger glowed cyan abruptly, and he tossed it an irritated glare before standing up and stalking out of the kitchen.

Sakura promptly decided to go upstairs and attempt to sleep off the hangover.

---

The knock at her door came minutes later, when she had curled up and dozed off while wrapped in the warm woolen blanket.

"What do you want?" she asked as Itachi entered, cerise strands of hair mussed and falling into her eyes.

"Leader wants to see you. If he approves of you, we'll be sent on another mission while Zetsu will be sent to track down the original target," Itachi informed her. "Get out of bed and pack." He ordered.

Sakura moaned. "But I'm hungover," she protested. Itachi gave her a chilling look, and she flopped backwards.

Itachi left, only to return with a shot of vodka in one hand and aspirin in the other.

"Drink this and take the medicine," he commanded, watching her down the alcohol quickly with a scrunched face.

"Now go take a hot shower and pack. Come and look for me when you're ready," Itachi directed, leaving while Sakura blinked in confusion, something that had been happening more and more as her stay at the Akatsuki house continued.

---

Sakura went in without knocking, and almost received a dozen senbon in her throat for her trouble. She ducked instantly, and the needles embedded themselves into the wall behind her, clustered together tightly.

"Knock next time." Itachi wielded a kunai in one hand, and wood shavings littered the floor.

"Are you… carving something?" Sakura asked timidly, approaching. Itachi set the item on a shelf and picked up his pack.

"Even a missing-nin has hobbies to pass the time," he said tartly, watching Sakura examine his work closely.

"You're not bad," she sounded surprised. The piece he had been working on was the statue of a male deer with an impressive rack of antlers.

"Put it down and let's go," Itachi ignored the roundabout compliment. Sakura followed him out, still looking rather shellshocked.

---At night---

Itachi landed on the tree branch and leapt down agilely. Sakura was a split-second behind him, and she looked tired. They had journeyed without rest since the morning, and she'd had to eat while running.

"I'll set up defences," Itachi sneaked off into the vegetation, explosive tags in one hand, waving for his exhausted temporary partner to set up camp.

When he returned, the fire was crackling merrily, and the bedrolls were laid out neatly. Sakura was cooking dinner, with consisted of soup and dried noodles she had found in the kitchen back at the Akatsuki house.

Sakura indicated for him to drink the tea she had prepared, and he lifted the cup to check for poison with a quick jutsu he had invented.

"Could you please teach me that jutsu?" she requested while ladling out the soup.

"At headaquarters," Itachi replied after considering it.

Sakura looked down at her hands before voicing what had been on her mind since the morning.

"Why?"

"I don't understand your question," Itachi sipped at the fragrant tea, trying to identify the herbs she had used.

"Why are you helping me? You put me to bed last night, you helped me cure my hangover, now you're agreeing to teach me a new jutsu – why?" Sakura demanded, confused beyond belief.

"Because you are my partner for now," Itachi replied simply. "I may be a murderer, but I care for my own my way. Don't' get me wrong – I'll help you where I should, no more, no less."

"When I leave, aren't you afraid that I'll teach that jutsu of yours to everyone?" Sakura asked.

"I could always kill you instead of letting you go," Itachi deadpanned.

The thing Sakura found distressing about that statement was that she couldn't figure out if Itachi had been kidding or not.

---

They set off early the next morning, Sakura still yawning. The black cloak she was swathed in was stifling, and added to the growing heat as the sun rose higher and higher, shining down fiercely. Sakura had never longed for a glass of iced tea so much in her entire life. Her throat was dry, and she swigged from her bottle while trying to keep up with the faster Uchiha.

They reached their destination after running for six hours, when Sakura was all hot and bothered. The mosquitoes seemed to be going all out for her blood, and she was finding them even more irritating than jumping through the trees. Fast though she was, she couldn't outrun insects.

"We'll be meeting Leader for dinner. Dress up properly; wear whatever's been laid out in your room. The mission he'll be appraising you for will be an undercover protection one, so act the part." With those terse instructions, Itachi stepped back, leaving Sakura at a wooden door that led to her room.

She watched him go into a room further down the hallway before retreating into her own.

When she brought out the dress hanging in the wardrobe, she was extremely surprised.

---

Sakura stepped out into the hallway at seven o'clock, the time when Itachi had told her to meet him. Itachi, dressed in his usual mesh shirt and pants, didn't blink twice at her unusual attire.

"Why am I wearing this… skimpy attire?" Sakura demanded.

The dress was not what a normal person would term decent, and was something that Sakura might expect to see a character in Kakashi's beloved Icha Icha Paradise wearing. It only went halfway down her thighs, and clung to her tightly. The bright red hue of the satiny cloth was remniscent of the color of blood, and the color clashed with her cherry-colored hair horribly. It was both sleeveless and backless, and Sakura was showing way too much skin for her own comfort.

"Don't ask me," Itachi said blandly, leading the way down the corridor. A scowl creased Sakura's face, and she stuck out her tongue at his retreating back childishly. The movement didn't do her any good, but it made her feel a tad better about being decked out so embarrassingly.

She teetered in her heels, cursing inaudibly as she landed in a huddle on the floor. Delicate white strings were wound around her lower legs, crisscrossing over her pale skin. The heels were too high for her to walk in normally, as she was used to the standard sandals that every shinobi, male or female, wore.

Itachi watched as Sakura tried to get up, falling a few more times. When she succeeded in standing, albeit somewhat shakily, he offered her his arm and began to walk at a pace somewhat slower than he was accustomed to. Sakura clung to him, cursing as she, master kunoichi and former apprentice of the infamous Tsunade of the Sannin, attempted to master walking in high heels.

---

It was, he decided upon reflection, somewhat amusing to see the girl who could beat his partner at his own game stumble down the hallway, steps as unsure as a child who had just learned to walk. Thankfully, she had not twisted her ankle in the ridiculously high slippers when she had fallen. Granted, she could have healed very quickly, but injuries were only hindrances and thus were to be avoided.

He stopped in front of a door and laid his hand on the doorknob, giving Sakura an inquiring look.

"Are you ready?" he asked quietly, aware that his voice echoed in the empty corridor. In the short walk to the dining room, they had met absolutely no one. It was probably Leader's own decision, and the clatter the high heels made could have been the signs for anyone serving to conveniently disappear.

Sakura nodded, pale green eyes steady and determined.

Itachi knocked twice on the door with his other hand, and turned the doorknob with nary a sound. The wooden panel swung open, revealing darkness lit by flickering candles.

---

Itachi bowed to the person seated at the head of the table respectfully, gesturing for Sakura to do the same. She dipped her head silently, raising her head almost immediately. It grated on her pride to bow to the person who controlled the organization which had destroyed her life beyond repair.

"Welcome… to the Akatsuki headquarters," a voice purred, melodious and pleasant to the ears.

Sakura almost stumbled back in shock.

'_It… can't be?'_

_---_

A/N: Anyone care to guess why Sakura's so shocked?

This chapter appears thanks to **lady-valasia**, whom this chapter is dedicated to. I admit it – I forgot completely about this story until about a week ago, when she informed me that my update was overdue. :D Anyway, this chapter goes out to you, **lady-valasia** – thank you for the kind reminder XD I hope it satisfies.

Beta-read by n2.lhfc :D Thanks :D

Umm… I know it's late. Er, it's not my fault? Really! I gave it to my editor last week :D But she's going through a personal crisis right now, so forgive both of us. /bows deeply/ Review, okay?

I'll be impressed if anyone can guess the identity of the Leader. Don't think of a name… that's all I'm saying.


	8. Chapter 8

Wasurenai na Ai

_Na neun na im geol **(I am me)**_

_No godo tae sheen haji mar a **(No one can take my place)**_

_Ke reo ke man man ha ge no mo gal nae ga ani ya **(I'm not one to let things pass so easily)**_

_Ne mo seup keu dae ro tang tang hago ship eo**(I want my image to be strong)**_

_Keu neu re kat yeo sa neun **(Don't expect me to)**_

_Yo ja reul ki dae haji ma… **(Stand in the shade forever…)**_

_-Girls on Top, by BoA. This song just SCREAMS furure!Sakura, don't you think?_

This chapter is dedicated to **JusticeDream**.

Chapter Eight: Girls on Top

"I've seen you somewhere before, right?" Sakura frowned, eyes narrowing.

"You have not seen me in person. But you may have seen me in a photograph, maybe. If I'd met you, I'd recognize that hair of yours." Leader shrugged.

"You are…" Sakura's eyes lit up in recognition.

---

"So what are we going to do? Trap or confront?" Kisame asked.

"I'd rather confront, un…" Deidara stroked the head of a clay bird he had just animated. Kisame hurriedly backed off, knowing that it was going to explode in a few moments. Sure enough, it took off quickly and filled the air with smoke and sparks.

"Trap. That's what Kisame came for." Sasori ordered.

"Yes, danna." Deidara shrugged.

---

They stopped in a clearing for the night, and Deidara found a flat, large stone they could spread the map on. While the water in the pot over the fire was heated, Sasori placed a map of the whole continent on the rock, and weighted it with stones.

Sasori waited until Kisame and Deidara finished their respective tasks, then began to brief them.

"From Sound to our house, there are a limited number of ways to travel." He should know. He had picked that house with Itachi for a reason. It was very, very tricky to get there.

"And whichever way Orochimaru's man decides to go, he will have to pass this point." Sasori pointed at the mouth of a valley. The house was unmarked on the map, although they all knew that the building lay beyond the mountain at the end of the valley. On all other sides was deep forest, and they had populated it with dangerous specimens that they had imported from other countries. Anyone who tried to pass by that way would find himself dead within a day. The problem did not lie with the shinobi's abilities, the problem was that there were so many hostile entities there that you could run into a monster and find that you were surrounded on all sides.

"So, we can camp here," Sasori tapped a spot on the right cliff beside the valley mouth. "And we'll be able to see if anyone gets in."

"Un," Deidara agreed, peering at the map closely.

"So what do I do?" Kisame asked, deferring to Sasori.

"You spread rumors. Draw Orochimaru's man this way. Go and ransack a village or two, just make sure word of your being about spreads." Sasori decided.

"Great. I'll leave tomorrow morning, then. I'll do some rumor-spreading, and then I'll join you on the cliff top in thirty six hours." Kisame yawned.

"That's it, then."

---

Sakura studied the face of the woman standing before her.

"You're Rin, aren't you? Kakashi-sensei's old teammate." She was reasonably sure. The nondescript brown hair and eyes, even the shape of her face was the same.

"Yes, I am Rin." She spread her hands, smiling.

"But Kakashi-sensei said that none of his teammates were alive!" Sakura's brow furrowed in confusion.

Rin laughed. She appeared to be amused, but Sakura saw a hint of cold steeliness within those brown eyes.

"To Kakashi, and to everyone in Konoha, I am dead."

"I don't understand." Sakura made her stance on the matter clear.

"Don't worry, you're not supposed to. Sit down. You too, Itachi." Rin nodded at the silent missing-nin.

---

"Are you up to an escort mission, Itachi, Sakura?" Rin asked, putting her chopsticks down.

Sakura swallowed a mouthful of food. "Isn't that a little… simple?" she gave Rin a suspicious look.

Itachi shrugged, concentrating on his food.

"Our escort missions are different. Usually, I don't take on this type of job, but I thought you and Itachi would be suitable." Rin picked at the things on her plate delicately.

"What would this mission entail?" Sakura asked.

---

Sakura carefully made her way back to her room, following Itachi with the occasional fiery glare at her high heeled sandals, which threatened to dump her on her behind.

"We'll leave tomorrow." Itachi said, pushing the door open for her and then walking away.

Sakura bit her lip. Should she…?

"Itachi…"

He paused midstep, but didn't turn.

"Thank you." They both knew that it was for more than leading her back. It was for more than agreeing to teach her a new jutsu.

"You shouldn't thank me." With those cryptic words, he vanished, without even a puff of smoke or a popping sound to herald his disappearance. Sakura frowned, eyebrows drawing in together. Shaking her head, she slipped inside the room, and closed the door.

---

'_Don't thank me. You should never, ever thank me.'_

Itachi stripped out of his formal clothing and cloak, and pulled on an old, ratty t-shirt and baggy shorts. Taking his kunai and shuriken out of his weapon holster, he began to polish them in an almost absent-minded way, looking at nothing in particular. The fact that his mind was faraway and he still managed to avoid getting cut by his own weapons testified to his skill and experience.

There was a knock at the door, and his eyes narrowed, flashing into Sharingan mode. The three black commas swirled hypnotically as he hurriedly wrapped his cloak around himself.

"Come in."

The door opened, and Rin gave him a strange look. He realized that he was still holding the cloth he had been using to polish his kunai, and tossed it aside with nary a care for it.

"What do you want?" he asked bluntly. As far as he knew, very few people saw the face of the Akatsuki leader and fewer survived. He was one of the minority, and he did not intend for his status to change.

"Sit down. I'm not here to fight." She moved to sit on the windowsill, skirt rustling as she passed.

"Then what is it?" Itachi remained standing.

Rin turned mild brown eyes on him.

"Your little brother is the one whom Orochimaru dispatched in search of Kisame's sword." She told him.

Itachi began to smirk coldly.

"It will be interesting, then – to see how my foolish little brother has strengthened himself." He balanced a kunai on the tip of his finger, before spinning it around.

"I do not want you to kill him." Rin watched him closely, eyes searching for a hint of his emotions in his body language.

"Even if he tries to kill me?" Itachi turned his eyes back into their normal mode, the crimson slipping away slowly.

"Yes. I will need him for information. When I am done, you may have him." Rin offered the last as a favor to him.

"I'm not interested." Itachi said bluntly.

Rin raised her eyebrows. "Well, if you're sure, then."

Itachi nodded.

"All right. That's it, then." Rin rose to leave, mahogany hair rippling out behind her as she moved.

The last order came so softly that Itachi wasn't even sure if he had heard right.

"Go easy on Sakura, Itachi."

When he turned to ask, she was already gone, the door standing open.

---

Sasuke paused, flipping the map open and scanning it, eyes burning with crimson fire. Orochimaru, or perhaps one of his countless subordinates, had already plotted the path for him to go. Folding it and sticking it into his pocket roughly, he channeled chakra to the soles of his feet and took off, jumping through the trees with impressive speed.

---

Deidara dropped down onto the camp from his flying clay bird, and landed in a crouch. Kisame had already returned from his rumor spreading mission, and was leaning against a tree, perusing a scroll of jutsus. Sasori was tinkering with one of his puppets again, and looked up inquiringly at the panting blond.

"He's coming."

---

When Sasuke saw a oddly shaped bird flying towards him, he did the smart thing, and threw himself off the branch he'd been poised on. It exploded, and wooden splinters rained down on him.

When the smoke cleared, he found three men wrapped in black cloaks, and immediately tensed. That one had blond hair, couldn't be Itachi. One had greenish blue skin… wasn't that Itachi's partner? The last was a pale-skinned man with a shock of red hair and a smirk to match his own.

"Who are you?" Sasuke demanded rudely, eyes narrowing as he sized the three Akatsuki members up.

Deidara shook his head. "Terrible, really. So young, and he has such bad manners already. What _did_ Itachi teach his little brother? Subtract ten points." It was obvious which family he came from. His Sharingan had activated itself upon being attacked, and the black commas revolved repeatedly, dark against the malevolent red.

"Don't talk to me about Itachi." Sasuke's temper frayed. He was being goaded, and they were _amused_.

"He doesn't know how to have a good relationship with anyone. Subtract fifteen points." Kisame pointed out.

"Shut up." Sasuke's voice had gone deadly quiet, cold to the point of freezing.

"Still thinks that he can scare the enemy with lousy acting skills. Subtract another fifteen points." Sasori smirked, but his eyes were unamused.

Sasuke bristled.

"Doesn't know what to say when faced with wittiness. Take away thirty points." Deidara quipped.

Sasuke's breathing sped up. The blue crackling energy of a Chidori gathered in his palm, and the chirping of a thousand birds filled the air.

"He doesn't know how to save his best attacks for later in the battle. Subtract twenty." Kisame shook his head disapprovingly.

Sasuke let out a rage-filled roar, and dove at Sasori, arm drawn back and ready to plunge it into his abdomen.

Sasori stepped to the side, grabbed his wrist, and threw him into a tree.

"Subtract fifty points for underestimating the opponent." Sasori said, wrinkling his nose in distaste.

"So that's what, negative forty?" Kisame counted on his fingers, brow furrowed.

A slow, vicious smirk spread across Deidara's face.

"Game over."

---

A/N: Okay, I actually finished this chapter more than a month ago and handed it over to my beta dearest. However, due to some problems she's going through right now, she may not be able to beta efficiently as she did before. HOWEVER. I am still going to ask her to beta everything. This chapter will be edited, sooner or later, for better or for worse. I will upload the edited version when I get it back.

Also, in the two months in between updates, I've written chapters 8 – 10, and half of 11. I want to finish this project of mine quickly, because otherwise I KNOW I'll lose interest soon. I don't want that to happen.

So, here's the deal. I finish fast. I post chapter by chapter as my beta redoes them. Okay?

But if you guys review nicely for me, I may beta my own stuff myself. –shrugs- Can't hurt to try, but it won't be as good a job.

Okay! Now that's done with!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PASSING THE RECORD. YOU GUYS GAVE ME 59 REVIEWS FOR ONE SINGLE CHAPTER. That's almost more than the first four chapters of this story garnered. I am so thankful to all of you. And I really treasure each review I receive, no matter what you write. Thank you (and keep up the response, okay? ) That's just one more to sixty! I'm so happy!

Chapter would not have been out this fast (…) if not for the patient JusticeDream, who chased after me for this chapter for the past few days. xD If you see her, thank her, because otherwise this would probably be arriving another month or two late.

Okay… let's hope that the next update will come sooner. (Wow, that was one LONG author's notes.)

I hope that you will continue to support me even if my updates become more and more irregular… (Sorry!)(About the story, shocked that it wasn't Yondy, right? xD) And please keep reviewing! It means a lot to me, even if you just tell me to update sooner. Because it's reviews like these which keep me working, albeit slowly.


	9. Chapter 9

Wasurenai na Ai

_Come and –try to- fight me_

_You will –never- break me_

_I know it's the final breath I'm taking if I let you win_

_So I cannot be the one forgiving or I'm giving in_

-Fight Me, by Xandria. I don't actually know this song, but I thought the lyrics fit.

Chapter 9

Sasuke pulled himself to his feet, eyes glinting with icy rage. Within those stormy orbs, Deidara spotted a fleeting glimpse of fear. As if to prove his point, Kisame made a show of sniffing the air, a leering grin spreading.

"Fear is a delicious dinner," he sneered.

"Technically, lunch," Deidara automatically corrected him. Their careless banter was firing up the highly strung Uchiha teenager, and that snarl contorting his pale face was beautiful to behold. Sasori produced a scroll, and unrolled it with a flick of his wrist. His hands formed the seals so quickly that the Sharingan couldn't follow his movements. Planting a hand in the middle of the paper, smoke filled the air, for the second time in less than five minutes. The puppet of a young kunoichi faced Sasuke, head lolling limply. His eyes narrowed in calculation.

"Don't dawdle. Pay attention to your opponent," Sasori ordered, twitching his fingers. The puppet flew at Sasuke, who dodged to the left. A knife blade emerged from each of the puppet's fingers, and sliced through the air. Sasuke hurriedly retaliated, holding it off with a kunai and flipping away.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

Fire roared out of Sasuke's mouth, crackling with immense heat. The puppet master jerked his pawn aside, and caught the volley of shuriken the young nin sent at him, trapping them between his fingers. The Uchiha maintained a steady stream of flames, turning his head to follow the puppet. He cut it off when he realized that he couldn't match speeds.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Sasuke gashed his palm with his teeth, drawing blood. The air surrounding him exploded, and a serpent hissed menacingly. It wasn't Orochimaru's favored Manda, but another snake of lower rank; not as large, but towering over the shinobi.

"Deidara, do your thing."

Sasori dismissed his puppet and stepped back to watch, arms folded. As a puppet, he didn't have blood. Without blood, it was impossible to summon, and it was foolhardy to face a summon animal head-on without help.

"Yeah, Danna. Of course, un." Deidara nicked his thumb with a kunai and pressed it flat on the ground. The mouths on his palms opened and closed in excitement.

A giant feline emerged out of a puff of mist. It yawned, showing off gleaming white fangs. It was a puma, equipped with claws and teeth to rip and tear, graceful in its deadliness. Sasori privately reflected that Deidara's summon animal rather suited the blond-haired ninja. The artist was poised on the head of the mountain lion, who looked distinctly bored.

"What do you want, Deidara?" he grumped, ruffling up his fur in abject annoyance.

"If Kaetien will finish off the snake thingy, he may leave, un." Deidara tugged on one of the animal's flattened ears in fun. Kaetien turned intelligent brown eyes on Sasuke and his serpentine counterpart.

"No problem, partner. I deal with the big one, and you deal with the little one." A giant paw shot out and swiped Sasuke off the snake's wedge-shaped head.

"Kill him, Kon!" Sasuke ordered, flipping over in midair and using chakra to stand on the side of the tree trunk.

"Don't get too cocky, un." Deidara fed some clay into the mouths on his palms, and then made a throwing gesture at him. Something zipped out of the mouths and arced through the air. It would have exploded in his face, but the Sharingan-nin flipped off his precarious perch and landed easily, only to throw himself sideways as more exploding hunks of clay chased him, detonating at his heels.

"He's fast, I'll grant him that," Kisame grunted.

"You're too fat, that's why you can't move fast." Sasori chose to turn his attention to the two summon animals instead of the shark hybrid.

Kaetien's weapon of choice wasn't much to look at. Hollow claws of metal had been cast to fit his own natural ones. They tapered to a sharp, wicked-looking tip. Sunlight flashed off the points, as Kaetien produced a deep throated roar. The serpent, Kon, had dark translucent scales which looked sharp enough to cut. Her weapon was rather uncommon. Bands of steel studded with deadly spikes wound around her length at intervals. The bottom of the bands were plain, to allow for easy movement.

Kon's jaw gaped open, and her fangs dripped with viscous venom. Kaetien eyed her with distaste, brown eyes cold. He tensed his backlegs for a moment, then sprang. The snake caught his forepaw with a spiky tail, faceted yellow eyes gleaming in triumph. Kaetien tore savagely into the muscles, squeezing his paw viciously, and she hurriedly released him. He swiped his uninjured paw at her face, scoring four deep gashes across her nose that wept with green ichor.

When the smoke from the explosions cleared, Sasuke was gone.

"What a bothersome guy, un." Deidara sighed. The kunai edge at his throat stopped him from saying more.

Sasuke's kunai bit deep into the wooden log which had replaced Deidara, and he cast it loose with a vicious curse. Blood-red eyes swept the surrounding area, hoping to catch sight of the blond man. He hurriedly jumped away as the ground vibrated slightly. A spire of earth thrust itself up where he had been standing; he would have been gutted alive if he had stayed still.

"Hurry up already, Deidara. Stop playing," Kisame grunted disapprovingly.

"You can't blame me if I wanna have fun, un. No one ever wants to play with me, yeah!" Deidara pouted. Sasuke almost blinked in disbelief; he would have, if he wasn't currently trying to get away from Deidara's earth attacks. Seeing a childish pout from a homicidal missing-nin maniac was mentally disturbing.

"Move it, or I'm stepping in," Kisame snorted. Deidara frowned.

"You're always ruining my fun, un. It isn't fair, yeah, danna?" he turned to Sasori, who shrugged uncaringly.

"Get on with it."

Deidara sighed. Using the Body Flicker technique, he disappeared and materialized behind Sasuke, knocking him out with a swift pinch to the nerve clusters at the base of his neck. Sasuke toppled like a fallen tree – he'd never even had a chance.

"There. Satisfied now, un?" Deidara dusted his hands off. With Sasuke no longer maintaining the flow of chakra keeping his summon snake in this plane of existence, it vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving a disgruntled Kaetien in its wake.

"Thanks, un." Deidara dismissed the annoyed puma quickly before he got nagged by his own summon, of all people. Plus, it was embarrassing to let the other Akatsuki members see him get witty jabs from an animal. Sasori slung Sasuke over his shoulder and walked away without another word.

"Come, Deidara," Kisame beckoned with his greenish hand. The blonde grinned devilishly.

"Why, Fishy-boy, never knew you had a **thing** for me, un…" he trailed off suggestively, and snickered as Kisame started choking on thin air.

As he began chasing after Sasori before Kisame could hurt him, he could hear his fellow Akatsuki member's wordless growls of rage, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kisame trying to strangle the air in front of him. The artist would probably get a little pain for his effort later, but it was worth it to see Kisame's eyes bulging out in disgust.

---

Sakura woke to faint knocking on the door, and sat up in bed, hair tousled and beryl eyes cloudy with sleep.

"Come on in," she called, trying to smooth her errant curls. Itachi opened the door and looked at her.

"We'll be leaving in an hour. Pack," he said shortly. Sakura fidgeted, teeth catching on her lower lip.

"Itachi… can we go over the mission details one more time?" she asked hesitantly. Itachi gave her an unreadable look.

"We'll be going undercover. You will be disguised as Tea's Feudal Lord's latest concubine, and I will be a servant. You are responsible for making sure that no bodily harm comes to him, and I will be on the look out for suspicious persons, poisons and assassins. Do it right; protect him for his three-day journey to visit his noble friends, and we get rewarded." His voice was cool and devoid of emotion, and his red eyes whirled hypnotically.

"Will I have to do… anything else?" her voice was small.

"If you are speaking of sex, you will not have to if you do not wish to. However, if you are repeatedly propositioned and pressured, I request that you remember that the Feudal Lord is the one you are protecting." Itachi replied carefully. Sakura nodded in relief.

"That's all right, then," she was reassured.

As Itachi's eyes remained on her, Sakura was suddenly vividly aware of the fact that she was in a rather thin nightgown with spaghetti straps; and a lot was visible.

"Please leave," she said politely, forcing a fake smile onto her lips. Her green eyes sparkled with angry flames. Inner Sakura raged in her mind, preparing to take over if necessary.

Itachi studied her form a moment more, looked at her outraged expression, took the hint, and got out.

---

Itachi was not stupid. He knew, or could guess at, the reason why Sakura had been so uneasy. She was either a virgin, or she was a prude.

With Sakura the way she was, Itachi was quite sure that she was both.

---

A/N: This chapter popped up so fast! Thanks to Iyakon Sobek for beta-ing! She'll be my temp beta until the other one gets better...

Uhn. Nothing much to say, then...

Review, okay!


	10. Chapter 10

Wasurenai na Ai

_Moshi atashi ga houkiboshi ni nareta naraba **(If maybe, just maybe, I had the chance to become a shooting star)**_

_Sora kakenuke tonde iku kitto** (I would surely rush to fall from the sky)**_

_Kanarazu todoku kono isshun no hikari de **(Beyond a doubt, I would reach you on this moment's light)**_

_Anata no IMA terashi sora wo megurou **(Let's wrap your "now" around the shining sky)**_

_Atashi ga houkiboshi ni nareta naraba **(If I'd gotten the chance to be a shooting star)**_

_Kitto soba ni ite ageru donna toki mo **(I'd definitely be by your side for all time)**_

-Houkiboshi (Shooting Star) by Younha. I like this song so much that it's not even funny.

Chapter 10 

Sakura bit her lip. This kind of situation was happening much too often for her liking, and it was getting old. The dainty scrap of cloth Rin had just given her was what she was supposed to wear.

"And exactly _where_ am I supposed to hide my weapons?" she demanded.

"Be creative," the woman replied evasively. Sakura fought down the urge to throttle the shinobi standing before her, and held it up.

It was beautifully sewn, and the material was soft and finely woven, but there was just so _little_ of it! At least it was in a color that suited her– a dyed maroon, dark as dried blood. It was thin, and Sakura had no doubt that she would have to search out a sweater to wear over it. The skirt ended before her fingertips, and it was strapless _and_ backless.

"And this, when you get that dirty," Rin added, handing her a folded stack of clothing. Sakura's cheek muscle twitched as she picked up the topmost piece. It was more like underwear than proper clothing, and the bottom was equally as bad. The kunoichi refolded it, sucking in air through her mouth deeply, and faced her superior.

"No."

"No?"

Rin's eyebrows went upwards, almost touching her hairline. The reddish brown stripes on her face stretched. Sakura's beryl eyes steeled against her.

"I won't wear that. And I won't wear that dress either." Sakura said firmly. The woman's face cracked into a smirk.

"It's about time you stood up for yourself." She turned to rummage in another wardrobe, bringing out another stack of clothing. "Now, _these_ are your real clothes for this mission."

---

Itachi stood, hefting his pack over his shoulder when a knock sounded at the door.

"Come in," he ordered. Sakura's head emerged from beyond the threshold.

"I'm ready," she murmured, a bit timidly. As Rin had taken her away to 'outfit her properly', Itachi had been forced to delay their departure time, and as a result, they were behind schedule. She wasn't sure if that would make him irritable or not.

Sakura was dressed in a simple yet stylish snowy dress, with roseate cherry blossom petals trailing around the edges randomly, matching her hair perfectly. The skirt ended three inches above her kneecap, flaring out and swirling delicately when she moved, and the bodice hugged her slender frame neatly. Her cerise locks were combed out and neatly arranged to frame her face, and her ruined hitai-ate was nowhere in sight. She held a pair of delicate fawn sandals in her hand, and was currently trying to stuff them into her pack. For now, her footwear was a pair of practical boots, suitable for the running they were going have to do through the treetops.

"Let's go."

---

Somehow, they made it in time to the appointment, and Sakura even had time to duck behind a tree, neaten up and change her shoes. When she emerged from her concealed niche, the two strange men facing Itachi were startled by her sudden appearance

"Is this the one, Inji-san?" the taller one asked interestedly. Itachi nodded silently, Sharingan whirling ominously. In accordance with Rin's wishes, he would bear another name on the mission to prevent identification: Satou Inji. "Excellent. Well then, Shingo-san, our contract ends here."

He turned to the shorter samurai beside him, and shook hands courteously. Without a single word, the mercenary turned and vanished into the surrounding trees with surprising ease. The man turned and smiled at Sakura.

"I am Ubike Hiroshi. Let's get along well." He held out a hand, and Sakura took it, making sure to exert a little strength in that handshake, signifying that she was not an ordinary kunoichi.

"Heishin Mitsuko. Pleased to make your acquaintance." Sakura, too, had to bear another moniker, although she was not as infamous as her partner. While they exchanged polite courtesies, Itachi took the opportunity to disappear and change. While on the road, they would be disguised. Sakura would be Hiroshi's consort, and Itachi would be a common soldier whom Hiroshi had engaged temporarily.

Unlike Sakura, Itachi was dressed very plainly, perhaps even a little shabbily. He wore a plain cotton shirt under a fraying leather vest which served as his armor, gray pants, and blue sandals. His eyes were black, and his hair was left free to fly as it wished.

Hiroshi smiled politely at Itachi, who didn't bother with the pleasantry.

"Shall we go now?" he suggested, offering an arm to his new female counterpart. She smiled, and obliged him.

---

Hiroshi and Sakura walked together, chatting politely about the weather, about the political situation, about anything that came to Sakura's mind. He was surprisingly well educated about the arts and literature, and Sakura's intellect proved to be a match for his. The two debated for a while on whether abortion should be banned, Sakura arguing for, and Hiroshi against. Itachi walked ahead silently, using his Katon to burn out a path when the trees and bushes grew too thick to penetrate easily. Hearing the animated discussion behind him, something stirred within his chest, a dull ache which he banished with sheer force of will.

"Abortion is a woman's right! If she chooses not to carry the child to term for reasons of her own, she should be allowed to. Would you rather that the child be born and suffer all its life if the mother cannot care for it, or that the baby never experience hardship?" Sakura shot, fired up about the issue at hand.

"A life is a life, Sakura, no matter how young or small it may be. To do what you have said would be like killing a young puppy because it was ugly, or perhaps because it was not needed. Even if the child has not emerged into this world yet, it has a right to live. A right to experience life, hardship and joy both. It has a right to survive," Hiroshi responded passionately.

The argument was running on, back and forth, back and forth, and had anyone asked, Itachi probably would've blatantly complained that they were wearing his ears out. Couldn't they at least pick a subject he wouldn't mind listening to? The latest reports of military movements, new alliances broken alliances, wars, _something of interest!_ Anything! He focused on the forest around him, trying to get his attention off the incessant chatter behind him.

"Hiroshi-sama, you only say that because you are a lord. You have everything you'll ever need. You don't know what it feels like to be abandoned, to feel lost, to not know what you are looking for in life. It's not a pleasant experience, you know. My teammate can attest to that. But he is unusual, and no one can ever hope to emulate him. That's why I say, if the woman decides not to carry her child, it is her choice." Sakura ended the argument firmly, leaving no room for more debate. Itachi's mind relaxed.

_Finally._

---

Sasori lowered Sasuke onto the ground, using his energy to activate two pairs of short chakra-absorbing chains. He locked the cuffs around the unconscious Sasuke's feet and wrists, and stood back to admire his work. Just in case the chains were unable to deal with the boy's chakra, Kisame would come by once a day to drain him. With the restraints on, he would be unable to move far.

"Is he okay, danna?" Deidara's voice echoed faintly down the corridor.

"Yes. Bring the bandages and ointment."

Deidara brought over a small bottle of green paste and a handful of linen cloths. The nin of the Red Sand smeared the ointment over their captive's various cuts roughly, tied the bandages on excessively tight; it was a wonder Sasuke's blood circulation was able to continue.

"We're done now." Sasori dusted off his hands and rose to his feet, gesturing for Deidara to move out of the room. When he pulled the door shut behind him, it was revealed that the inner side of the door had no knob.

---

They had been walking for hours, and Hiroshi was getting noticeably tired, although Sakura and Itachi were almost as fresh as they had begun.

"Can you continue on, Hiroshi-sama?" Sakura asked politely. Hiroshi waved an arm dismissively.

"It's alright."

"Are we camping for the night, or have you arranged to stay with someone?" Itachi asked, his voice, as always, deadpan emotionless.

"My friend, Yuushi Satsuko, has agreed to put us up tonight. The two of you have been welcomed to stay, as well. Her house is about half a mile away," Hiroshi replied.

---

Their hostess, Yuushi Sateru, was a friendly lady with three children at her heels. Evidently, her husband was away on business, and the three were shown to a pair of connecting rooms, one with two single beds, and another with a double bed.

"You and I will take the two single beds," Sakura told Hiroshi. He nodded in agreement.

"No. I will share a room with him," Itachi cut in, looking as bored as usual. Sakura moved a few meters away, and Itachi joined her at her furious gesture.

"Do you think that I am unable to guard one person for the night?" she hissed under her breath, aware that Hiroshi was trying to overhear her conversation with the infuriating man before her.

"Yes." Itachi's answer was as blunt as usual.

Sakura's eyes narrowed.

"Good night, Hiroshi-sama," she almost snapped at him.

Stalking stiff-legged into the next room, she slammed the door in between closed. The click of the lock turning sounded loud in the silence which fell over the two men.

---

A/N: Ah, many apologies for the delay! My beta reader, Iyakon Sobek, was busy and I forgot to bother her for the chapter, so… XD.

That aside, I've created a writing journal at Livejournal, under the username 'flarium'. Feel free to see what else I write there, I post more there than I do here. Unknown to most people here, I also write yaoi and yuri, most of which is not posted on Fanfiction(dot)Net.

Sorry for the delay again!

-windborne.


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